Open in full screen mode In Sudan, it is not necessarily food that is lacking, it is distribution that is problematic, especially in conflict zones. Agence France-Presse Nearly 5 million people could plunge into “catastrophic food insecurity” in the coming months in war-torn Sudan, according to a UN document calling for better humanitarian access and a ceasefire.< /p> Nearly 5 million people could plunge into “catastrophic food insecurity” in the coming months in war-torn Sudan, according to a UN document seen by AFP on Friday, which calls for better humanitarian access and ceasefire. Without urgent humanitarian aid and access to basic products, nearly 5 million Sudanese, already in a food emergency situation (phase 4 of the IPC scale of 5), could slide into food insecurity catastrophic in parts of the country in the coming months, writes the head of the UN Office of Humanitarian Operations Martin Griffiths in this note sent to the Security Council. The IPC is the classification scale for food insecurity, on which UN agencies base themselves. Populations classified in phase 4 in West Darfur and Central Darfur will likely move to IPC phase 5. A quote from Martin Griffiths, head of the UN Office of Humanitarian Operations Loading ELSEWHERE ON INFO: A man arrested for threatening to kill Paul St-Pierre PlamondonLoading in progress ELSELSE ON INFO: A man arrested for having threatened to kill Paul St-Pierre Plamondon The latest IPC report estimated 4.9 million people in Phase 4 (emergency) in Sudan, including more than 300,000 in Central Darfur and more than 400,000 in West Darfur. No one was then classified in phase 5 of “starvation”. In total, nearly 18 million Sudanese face food insecurity severe (phase 3 and above), a “record” figure during the harvest period and 10 million more than the same period last year. Women, children and displaced people are “particularly at risk”, warns Martin Griffiths, noting that almost 730,000 children, including 240,000 in Darfur, are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition. An unprecedented increase in treatment of cases of acute wasting, the deadliest form of malnutrition, is already observed in accessible areas, indicates the humanitarian official, worrying about difficult-to-access areas where Nearly three-quarters of the 4.7 million children live are severely malnourished and pregnant or breastfeeding women need urgent help.
A man arrested for having threatened to kill Paul St-Pierre Plamondon
A man arrested for having threatened to kill Paul St-Pierre Plamondon
UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths. (File photo)
He calls for “urgent measures” to prevent this catastrophe “from taking hold”, in particular a better humanitarian access, more money, and a ceasefire.
To reach those in need, humanitarian organizations need safe, rapid, continuous and unhindered access, including across front lines .
A quote from Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary General
A massive mobilization of resources from the international community is also essential, he insisted, while the UN humanitarian plan for Sudan in 2024, estimated at $2.7 billion, does not x27;is less than 5% funded.
There are enough humanitarian stocks in Port Sudan but access to the population poses a problem, explained Jill Lawler, of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), returning from the region of Khartoum, demanding the possibility of traveling across the front lines and crossing the borders of neighboring countries.
At the beginning of March, the World Food Program (PAM) has already sounded the alarm: the war “could create the largest hunger crisis in the world” in a country which is already experiencing the largest population displacement crisis on the globe.
The fighting, which has raged since April 15, 2023 between the army of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane and the Rapid Support Forces (FSR, paramilitary) of General Mohammed Hamdane Daglo, former number two in power, has caused thousands dead and more than eight million displaced, according to the UN.
On the left, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the army, who has de facto led the country since the putsch, on the right, General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, head of the rapid intervention militias.
Regional director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Hanan Balkhy expressed alarm on Friday in a press release about the health situation, particularly in Darfur.
Most health establishments have been looted, damaged or destroyed. In West Darfur, the health system is at a standstill, she lamented.
On the other side In the country, in Port Sudan, health facilities are receiving 2 to 4 times more patients than they are used to treating, she added, also describing the fight against cholera.